Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses - Small-seeded false flax

SMALL-SEEDED FALSE FLAX

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Camelina microcarpa Andrz. ex DC.

Jewell County, Kansas

Annual

Height: 12-30 inches

Family: Brassicaceae - Mustard Family

Flowering Period: May, June

Also Called:

Littlepod, smallseed falseflax.

Stems:

Erect, unbranched or branched above, rough-hairy, lower stem with long hairs, upper stem less hairy.

Leaves:

Alternate, simple, sesile, lower leaves clasping, linear to lanceolate or arrow-shaped, 1-3 inches long, rough-hairy; margins nearly entire or slightly toothed, basal rosette usually withered at flowering.

Inflorescences:

Raceme, 2-12 inches long, elongating with maturity, many-flowered, terminal.

Flowers:

Sepals 4, erect, hairy, tips mostly rounded; petals 4, spatulate, about 1/6 inch long, pale yellow; stamens usually 6; filaments linear; athers ovate; 2 short stamens flanked at base by pair of tiny glands.

Fruits:

Silicle (pod), pear-shaped, about 1/4 inch long; beak thread-like; stalk about 1/2 inch long; seeds few to several in each cell, oblong, ridged, reddish-brown.

Habitat:

Fields, waste places, roadsides, and disturbed sites; usually sandy soils.

Distribution:

Throughout Kansas.

Origin:

Small-seed false flax is native to Europe, was introduced to the U.S. in flax seed, and is now naturalized.

Forage Value:

Birds that forage on the ground eat the seeds.

Uses:

The Apache boiled and ate the seeds and used them to make flour.

Small-seeded false flax silicles